I have been busy....

[subhajit123]

Hi everyone, if someone asks me "are you tired?", can I reply "yes, I am tired. I've been busy meeting", or should I say "yes,I am tired. I was busy meeting"?

I've seen people use them interchangeably. Can both the tenses('have been' and 'was') be used interchangeably in the above context?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi everyone. If someone asks me "Are you tired?", can I reply "Yes, I am tired. I've been busy meeting", or should I say "Yes, I am tired. I was busy meeting"?

I've seen people use both. [STRIKE]them interchangeably.[/STRIKE] Can both the tenses ('have been' and 'was') be used interchangeably in the above context?

"Meet" can be both transitive and intransitive but in your context it needs to be use transitively. "I was/have been busy meeting friends", for example. I'd use the present perfect in that context but the simple past is OK.